Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Sells 91 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 356 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 755 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $890.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $836.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $395.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.